Rotary press



Feb. 2, 1937. F. 1.; IRELAND ET AL ROTARY PRESS Filed June 27, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 oooooo co ooeoo Q0 waooo coco MN MW W? ATTORN EYS Feb; 2, 1937.

F. L. IRELAND ET AL ROTARY PRESS Filed June 27, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2" BY M ATTORNEY the face side. of the lower end of the movable hop- Patented Feb. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENTiOjFFlC E 1 ROTARY. mass Frank L. Ireland, Norwich,- and Frank L.

Chappell, Hobart, N. Y.

Application June 27, 1934,- Serial No. 732,870

, 3 1Claim. This invention-relates to. rotary presses and particularly to rotary presses for expressing liquidput through a press to express a large part of the water therefrom before it is shredded and placed upon trays for kiln drying.

A general object of the present invention is to provide improved means for expressing the moisture from the casein which will effect this operation so rapidly and efllciently as to help materially to reduce to a practicable minimum both the final drying step and the period between the production of the casein and its preparation for the Y final drying step.

v Another object of the invention is to provide means for expressing the moisture from the casein and similar materals, which is so constructed that it will not be liable to injury in operation and can thus operate over long periods of time with a minimum of. repair. The'invention aims also to provide means for-expressing the moisture from casein and similar materials, which isso constructed that it can readily be cleaned.

Other objects and important features of the in vention will be apparent when the following description and claim are considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 1s a front elevation, with parts broken away, of a casein press embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a detail section of a part .of the lower perforated press roll;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail showing the perforations in the lower press roll and the perforations in the screen covering this roll;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a detail elevation, looking from the right in Figure 1, illustrating the driving connec tions;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged detail of per wall, and 1 1 Figure 7 is an enlarged section of the lower end of the movable hopper wall.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention the pressing, mechanism, hereinafter to be described in greater detail, is carried in a. frame comprising vertical .end members 2 and 3 which carry the bearings for the various horizontalshafts hereinafter to be referred to, said end 5 frame members being connected in part by a horizontal top frame member 4, fastened thereto in any suitable mannenand by cross rods 8 near their bottoms.

The lower press roll, generally indicated by the 10 reference numeral 8, is carried by a shaft III, which has its bearings in adjustable bearing blocks l2 sliding on vertical guides l4 in yokes i6 bolted to transverse flanges I! on the end frame members 2-.and 3. Vertical adjustment of the 5 shaft l0, and with it the press roll 8, is effected by means of upper'screws I I-threaded through the flanges l1, and lower screws threaded through the lower parts of the yokes it.

The upper press roll, the reference numeral 22, is carried on a shaft 24 having its bearings in bearing blocks'26 arranged to slide on vertical guides 28 formed in the frame members 2 and ,8, the lower limit of movement of the bearing blocks iii being determined by adjusting screws 30 threaded through flanges 32 constituting the bottoms of the slots in the frame members 2 and 3 in which the bearing blocks 26 slide. Q

The upper press roll is yieldingly maintained 30 in its lowermost position of adjustment by means of springs 34 fitting over bosses 36 on the bearing blocks 26, at their lower ends, and, at their upper ends, fitting over similar bosses on caps 38. Adjusting screws 40, threaded through those parts of the cross frame member 4 which close the upper ends of the slots" in the frame members 2 and 3 in which the bearing blocks 26 slide, engage the upper faces of the caps 38 and determine the amount of compression initially placed upon 40 the springs 34'.

These springs are preferably of substantial strength and preferably the pressure exerted by the upper press roll 22 on the lower press roll '8 is quite substantial; for example, in the neigh- 5' press is being used.

The upper press roll 22 preferably presents a smooth uninterrupted outer surface and may conveniently be formed of sheet steel rolled' into generally indicated by cylindrical form .erably chromium plated to make it substantially mental construction as lower press roll is that of the upper press roll 22, is preferably 50 and is then and 'perforations in adjacent rows 'the ends of the screen stainproof. This cylinder may be carried on and connected to spoked wheels 42 keyed to the shaft 24, there being preferably at least one intermediate wheel besides the two ,end wheels. These spoked wheels are preferably each cast in one piece and preferably have their peripheries 44 interrupted at the end of each of the spokes to provide drainage openings 46, each of the spokes,

as shown, being forked at its end to straddle the' openings 48 and form, with the rim sections 44, an integralunitary structure.

The lower press roll 8 has the same fundathe upper press roll 22, that the.- sheet steel cylinder 48 of the I provided with drainage perforations 50 through which the water or other liquid expressed during the pressing operation passes to the interior of the cylinder, this sheet steel cylinder also having at one point in its periphery a depressed portion 62 forming a channel 53 extending lengthwise .of the cylinder for a purpose hereinafter to be described; The sheet steel cylinder 48 of the lower press roll 8, like except supported upon and connected to spoke wheels 42 of the same construction as the wheels of the upper press roll, there being preferably at least two end wheels 42 and an intermediate wheel.

To provide a proper supporting surface on the lower press roll 8 for the material to be pressed at .the'same time to provide ample drainage for the water expressed during the pressing operation, the sheet steel cylinder 48 is preferably provided with comparatively large perforations itself covered with a screen 64 having muchsmaller and more numerous perforations 55. It has been found that satisfactory results are obtained in the dehydration of casein when the sheet steel screen is provided with inch holes spaced V inch from center to center and when the covering screen is provided with perforations 55, of such small diameter that eachsquare inch of the surface may carry, for example, 34rows of i2 perforations per row, the being staggered with respect to each other so that two adjacent rows will present perforations spaced .24 different distances fromthe beginning of the inch measurement. The number per square inch just given and the arrangement are, of course, merely illustrative.

The covering screen 54 of brass or bronze and is preferably secured to the cylinder in the manner now to be described:

. Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the screen 54 is so wrapped about the sheet steel cylinder 48 that its ends are received in the channel 53 formed by the depressed part 52 of the sheet steel cylinder 48, the screen 44 beirfg preferably bent over the edges of this channel and then bentagain so that its ends lie in the bottom of the channel. The screen 54 having been fitted smoothly to the cylinder 48 and its ends brought down into the channel 53 in the-depressed part 52, a clamping strip 58, of such a.thickness that its'upper face will be flush with the cylindrical outer surface of the screen B4,Iis brought into clamping relation to screws 58 threaded into nel II.

In order further to secure the screen I54 on the cylinder then being pref-' also preferably of brass.

is preferably formed.

54 and secured there by' the bottom of the chan-,.

the cylindenperipheral bands 60 are provided, There are. preferably three of these bands on the lower cylinder 8 of the machine illustrated, one at each end of the cylinder and one intermediate between the ends.

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention in which the cylinders are of an outer diameter of 16 inches or more and of a length ofabout 30 inches, it has been found that three of 'thebrass bands 60, one inch wide and one-eighth inch in thickness, furnish sufficient reinforcement for the brass screen 54. i

It will be noted from an inspection of Figure 4 that the upper press roll 22 is offset somewhat toward the discharge side of the machine with respect to the lower press roll 8. This facilitates the novel construction and arrangement of the hopper and feeding mechanism now to'be described:

The sides or ends of the hopper are formed by plane solid portions 62 ofthe frame members 2 and 3, the ends of the cylinders 22 and 8 running close to these plane portions 62 of the frame members 2 and 3. The rear or inner wall of the hopper is constituted by a portion of the cylindrical surface of the press roll 22 and by a wall ,member 64 extending down into substantial contact with the surface of the cylinder 22 and attached at its upper end to the cross frame member 4. The front or outer wall of the hopper is preferably movable and comprises an apron 86 carrying hinges 68 which swing on a cross rod 10 extending between the two frame members 2 and 3. At its lower end the apron 68 carries a perforated sheet of steel 12' (see Figs. 6 and 7) covered with a perforated screen 14 for a purpose hereinafter to be more fully set forth, this sheet and its covering extending approximately into contact with the lower cylinder 8 whereby the-lower cylinder 8 constitutes the bottom of the hopper.

In order to effect a preliminary expressing of water from the mass of casein curds in the hopper just described, and at the same time to insure feeding of the casein between the pressing rolls 22 and 8, means is provided for oscillating the apron 66 and its attached plate 12 on the hinged rod 10. The'illustratedmeans comprise two eccentrics 16 mounted on a driven shaft 18 carried in bearings in the end frame members 2 and 3. Eccentric collars 80 have hinge arms 82 pivotally connected to hinge brackets 84 attached'to the apron 66 whereby turning of the eccentrics I6 05-- cillates the apron 66 toward and away from the press roll 22 and also toward and away from the bite between the press rolls 22 and 8.

It will be apparent that this movement of the apron 66 and its attached plate 12, when the hopper is filled with casein curds, will cause the mass adjacent the screen 14 to be squeezed between the screen covered plate 12 and the surface of the press roll 22, thus directly expressing some of the water, which will run out through the perforations'in the screen 14 and in the plate 12, and at the same time this pressure will cause the casein to be fed into the bite between the two press rolls whereby the successive feeding operations will cause the casein to be squeezed between the rolls in a continuous comparatively thin layer. During the passage between the rolls more water orother liquid content of the casein will be forcibly expressed, the rolls breaking up the surfaces of the curds to some'extent and thus facilitating the expressing of the water. The water thus expressed passes, for the most part, directly through the small perforations l5 oi the rolls 8 and, and the shaft I8, which carries the j screen 04, then through the larger perforations veying the expressed-liquid away from the ma-' chine.

The shafts land 24, which carry the press eccentric 16, are driven from driving connections now to be described: The driving pulley 92, connected to a shaft' extending across the front of the machine and having its bearings in- .brackets 96 attached to the end frame members 2 and3, may bevconnected by belt 90 to any suitable source of power, such, forexample, as an electric motor mounted on the press itself or a power driven shaft. At its end remote from the pulley 92, the shaft 94 carries a pinion I00 which drives a large gear I02 keyed to the shaft 'IB'which carries the eccentric I6.- At its end remote from the gear I02 the shaft I8 carries a pinion I04 which drives the large gear I00 mountedto turn on a stationary shaft I08 carried by the machine frame. Attached to the gear I06 and rotating therewith is a pinion IIO which engages a large gear II2 connected to one end of the shaft l0 that carries the press roll 8. Connected to the end of the shaft I0 remote fromthat which carries the gear H2 is another gear II that meshes with a similar gear IIS on the shaft 24 that carries the upper press roll 22, the gears I I4 and 3 having relatively long teeth to permit considerable movement of the shafts I2 and 24 toward and away from each other.

g It willthus be seen that there is a considerable reduction in speed and multiplication of power in the driving connections between the driving pulley 92 and the gear H2 connected to the press roll 8. The gears Ill and IIS may be so related to each other as either to drivethe press rolls at the same peripheral speed or to cause one to travel faster than the other, depending onwhether or not it is desiredto exert a dragging effect upon the material passing between the rolls. In some cases a difference in the peripheral speeds of the two press rolls, where they exert the pressing action, may be desirable to increase the surface disrupting effect of the pressing action upon the casein curds, in which event the gears I and H6 will beso designed that one of the press rolls 0 and 22 will be driven at a little faster speed than the other.

After the curds have been passed between the pressing rolls they tend to remain upon the surface of the lower perforated roll, both by reason of the'construction of the roll and by reason of the action of gravity, and they are thus carried around with the roll until they meet a doctor or scraper H0, preferably formed of a strip of wood attached at its ends to hinge members I20 hinged at I22 to the end frame members 2 and l. scraper or doctor IIB which is adjacent to the screen 04 of. the cylinder 0 and which serves to engage and remove from the screen the compressed and partly dehydrated mass of casein curds that have 'passed'betweenthe press rolls is provided necessarily with small recesses for the brass bands 00 whichsurroundthe press The bevelled edge of the roll in order thatthescraper edge may engage the screen surface between the bands.

From an inspection of Figures 6 and '7 it will be 'noted that the perforated steel plate I2 which is carried by the apron 00 has in it perforations I20 similar to the perforationslll in the sheet steel cylinder 40 and preferably of the same dimensions and spacing. Covering this plate I2 on the side adjacent to the curds is the .perfo-' rated brass screen ll, preferably of the same 4 construction as the screen 04 of the cylinder 0.

It will be noted that the upper margin of the screen 14 is clamped between the upper margin of the plate 12 and'theglower margin of the apron 80, the blade I2 beingsecured to the apron 06 by screws I20. At its lower margin the plate 12 is reduced in thickness to provide a rabbet into which the, lower margin of the screen 14 is bent so that it may be clamped to the plate 12 by a brass clamping strip I28 attached to the plate 12 by brass rivets in. Both cidentally referred to in the detailed description.- The hopper of the machine may be fed continuously, if desired, by some continuous-conveyor delivering casein curds'or other material to be dehydrated in quantities within the capacity of the press to treat, or the hopper may be supplied with successive batches of the material to be treated. 3

Thepress being driven continuously from the driving pulley 02 and being supplied with material to be dehydrated, such,'for example, as freshly madecurds of casein separated from their whey and preferably washed substantially free of the acid used in their formation, the rotation of the eccentric carrier M will cause the oscillation of the apron 06 toward and awayfrom the upper press roll 22 and over the lower press roll I, this oscillation directly effecting some expression of water from the curds as the curds are compressed between the upper roll 22- and the screen-covered lower extension 12 of the apron 66. The movement of the screen toward the upper press roll will also cause that portion of the curds which is adjacent to the bite of the press rolls to be forced into the bite so that it is carried between the rolls and subiected to' the pressure thereof, there being a normal space of about 3 inch between the en'ective press- By reason of the fact that the moisture ex pressing pressure upon the casein curds is a more cesses I32 to accommodate the brass bands 80 or less localized pressure between two convex surfaces, there is not the tendency that is. found in some forms of presses to press the casein into a cheese-like cake. Although the partly dehydrated casein adheres to the surface of the lower cylinder until it encounters the scraper or doctor Ill, when it is scraped'from the cylinder by the scraper or doctor III it comes off in comparatively small pieces which facilitates its subsequent treatment.

It will be noted that the scraper IIl extends over the entire length of, the lower-press roll! I" of the roll and that the hinges I20 which support the scraper iil overlap the ends of the roll 8. To permit this and at the same time have the ends 8 in substantial engagement with the plane solid portions 02 of the frame members I and I, it will be noted that the lower or leg parts of the end frame members 2 and 3 are offset slightly at ill from the upper solid parts By this invention there has been provided a simple durable, easily cleaned and effective press for quickly effecting a considerable dehydration of materials such as casein curds. In practical operation, the illustrated press, with press rolls of the dimensions hereinabove given,'that is, 16 inches in diameter and 30 inches long and operated at the normal chine is designed will press. to a resultant moisture content of about 52%,from 1500 to 3000 pounds of casein curds per hour.

It will be understood, of course, that the embodiment of the invention herein described. although it has proved to be a very practicable and successful press for the uses intended and has gone into extensive commercial use, may be and for guiding it into speed for which the mamodified considerably without departing from the invention. For example. although the perforated screen 54 has some practical advantages the invention is not limited to the use of a discharge of the liquid therethrough, a hopper for holding the mass of casein curds to be pressed v feeding relation to the rolls, said hopper having the outer wall thereof hinged to oscillate toward and from the bite of the rolls in such a path with respect thereto that it both lifts the mass of curds away from the drainage openings of the lower roll on which it has been resting and squeezes it against the upper-roll near the bite, said hopper wall being perforated adjacent to said lower roll to permit discharge oi the liquid thus expressed, and means for oscillating said hopper wall.

FRANK L. IRELAND. maNK n CHZAPPELL. 

